Europe’s Space Rider Vehicle Crashes in Parafoil Drop Test
A full-scale test model of Europe’s Space Rider vehicle crashed during a drop test on the Italian island of Sardinia after its steerable parafoil detached. The…
The European Space Agency’s Space Rider vehicle hit the ground during a descent test on the Italian island of Sardinia, after its steerable parafoil detached. The Oct. 6 failure is under investigation, though ESA’s space transportation director said the remaining qualification activities are not on the spacecraft’s critical path.
The test was designed to show how the uncrewed vehicle could steer toward a landing area after returning from orbit. The failed deployment left the full-scale model unable to slow its descent before impact.
The initial drogue parachute worked.
ESA confirmed that the larger parafoil came away during deployment. The agency said it has recovered all components of the test craft, which was a model built to evaluate the spacecraft’s descent and landing systems—not a space-ready vehicle.
Investigation underway after parafoil failure
“Following several successful tests using representative vehicle masses, the latest system-level drop test in October was not completed as planned due to an anomaly during the parafoil deployment sequence,” an ESA spokesperson told Space.com in an email.
“An independent investigation is ongoing to determine its root cause and inform the next steps.”
The model was released from a helicopter at an altitude of approximately 2 miles (3 kilometers), according to Space.com. ESA space transportation director Géraldine Naja said the drogue parachute deployed as expected and began slowing the model before the parafoil was meant to unfurl. The parafoil detached, leaving the craft in freefall.
The test took place at a military range operated by Italy’s Ministry of Defense. The range was unavailable from June through September, after engineers called off an earlier test in May when a sensor flagged an issue during preparations. The model was not released in that attempt.
Space Rider is being developed as Europe’s first reusable orbital spacecraft. The uncrewed vehicle is designed to carry scientific experiments into orbit for up to two months and return them to Earth for analysis.
Landing test tied to planned reuse
Unlike spacecraft that rely on less precise parachute-assisted recoveries, Space Rider’s wingless lifting-body design is intended to use a steerable parafoil to guide it to a runway-style touchdown. Demonstrating that landing method is a key part of qualifying the vehicle for reuse after orbital missions.
The failure raises a question about that qualification work, but ESA has not said it will change the development schedule. Naja told an ESA Council media briefing on Oct. 22 that the remaining qualification activities were not holding up the path to launch.
“We hope that this test will not damage, or let's say lead us to modify, the remaining schedule and qualification activities,” Naja said. “In any case, the remaining qualification activities are not on the critical path of the development of the Space Rider.”
She called the mishap unfortunate but part of testing a space system. “We have had many successful tests before, but testing and validation is part of the development of a space system,” she said.
The model reproduced the size and flight characteristics of Space Rider’s reentry module and carried avionics for autonomous guidance and navigation. ESA’s investigation will determine what caused the parafoil to detach and inform the next steps.
Source: space.com
